


Ready to Stand

by delightfulalot



Category: Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-02
Updated: 2013-02-02
Packaged: 2017-11-27 20:32:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/666205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delightfulalot/pseuds/delightfulalot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darcy makes a quick trip through the guest wing of Netherfield and happens to hear Lizzie singing. In the shower. He stops and listens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ready to Stand

**Author's Note:**

> This is ridiculous. I kind of can't believe I wrote this! It's inspired by the many, many times I have sung "Part of Your World" in the shower, the fact that Lizzie is a redhead and Darcy kinda looks like Prince Eric, and other ridiculous things. Set in the Netherfield arc. I know! I can't believe it either! Title from "Part of Your World," obviously.

Bing, Caroline, and Jane have gone out - Caroline mentioned something about finding an organic farmer's market, so Darcy's pretty sure they won't make it back before dinner. Darcy takes the opportunity to take a break from his work and make his daily unnecessary detour through the guest wing, though if anyone asks, he prefers the guest library's selection of first edition novels over the less formal one closer to his room.  

He's just trying to expand his horizons through reading, that's all. He _definitely_ doesn't stroll through the wing in the hopes of finding a certain auburn-haired beauty laughing with her sister or curled up in one of the chairs in the library, reading one of those first edition novels.

(Last week he caught her reading _Les Miserables_ , and he tried to engage her in conversation by mentioning Gigi's love of the musical. It had worked, for a few glorious minutes; she'd said that she'd wanted to see it on tour, but had had to settle for watching a couple of the different versions on PBS. He'd said he'd taken Gigi on a quick business trip to London to see the 25th anniversary concert, and she'd huffed and taken her book and stomped off to her room. He'd been completely bewildered by it, and thought about asking someone what he could have done wrong, but he'd never gathered the courage - and, of course, it was mere hours later they had a lively discussion about the merits of social media as a marketing tool, so he'd figured all was well again.)

His steps slow when he rounds the corner into the hall, and he takes a deep breath and tries to slow his heartbeat - _stop being ridiculous_ , he mentally berates himself, but it does nothing to stop his hands getting slightly sweaty, like a 12-year-old boy on his first date. 

He's halfway to the library when he hears the shower running. He pauses, debates turning around and coming back later when he can actually run into Lizzie when he realizes he can _hear_ her. 

Singing. 

In the shower. 

It's a song he recognizes but doesn't immediately place, at least until she sings _Wish I could be/Part of that world_ and it clicks; how many times did he have to sit through Gigi watching _The Little Mermaid_ , running around the house in her bathing suit and a towel wrapped around her waist as her fins, singing the same song? He's still half convinced that Gigi first got the idea to join the swimming team not from George, but from Ariel. 

And now here's Lizzie, his current infatuation, a girl completely wrong for him that he can't seem to get out of his mind, singing a song that actually holds memories for him, happy carefree memories. He remembers Gigi screwing up her face at his sighing, claiming he was such a crab that their parents should have named him Sebastian, only to have their mother shake her head and say, "No, I think William is going to end up being someone's Prince Eric one of these days." Gigi had made another face and they'd all laughed, but he still remembers her tiny voice post-Wickham, when she'd finally gotten over loathing him and screaming that she wished he'd died instead of their parents and called him Prince Eric, thanked him for rescuing her. 

He can feel himself start to weaken again, listening to Lizzie sing about _bright young women, sick of swimmin'_ , and he imagines the two of them curled up on a couch somewhere, watching _The Little Mermaid_ , and almost immediately wants to kick himself for being ridiculous.

Instead he tries to focus on the flat notes, the way her voice kind of strains when she hits the higher register, but all he can hear is the _joy_ in her singing, the way she doesn't hesitate over the words.

He hears the shower stop and knows he should move, head for the library, _get out of the guest wing_ , but he doesn't, and suddenly she's pulled open the door and there she is. The only thing between him and her body is a thin towel and five feet of air so thick with tension he thinks he can actually see it moving. 

"Um. Hello," he says, steadfastly keeping his eyes locked on hers, lest they decide to linger on more. . . improper areas, like the freckle on the base of her neck he couldn't keep his eyes off during dinner last night. 

"Darcy," she says tightly, giving a quick nod. 

"I was just headed to the library," he says, pointing behind him, back the way he came. He realizes his mistake when she raises her eyebrows. "That one." He points behind her, towards the actual location. 

"Well, don't let me stop you," she says, waving the hand not holding her towel up in the direction he just pointed. 

"Of course," he says, and starts to head off. He pauses after a moment, though, and turns back around. "Lizzie?"

She hadn't started to leave, and was instead staring at a spot on the floor near where he'd been standing, but when she hears her name her gaze snaps back up to meet his.

"My sister used to like that song as well." 

"What song?" she asks, confused, and he realizes he's acted as if they're in the middle of a conversation. 

"Part of Your World."

She pales. "You - you heard that?" 

He nods. "You have a nice voice."

"Um, thank you?" 

"You're very welcome, but it's true. You should sing more often." 

"Oh, okay," she says, and it sounds a bit like the bite she usually has when she speaks, but he thinks he can also hear a little bit of softness under it. He gives her a small smile, turns on his heel, and retreats to the library.

The next time he sees her, they get into a debate of Dostoyevsky, and he thinks he sees her smile. It makes his heart beat a little faster. 

He is in a _lot_ of trouble. 


End file.
